Scarlett becomes first woman to win major StarCraft II tournament

Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn holds up the StarCraft II trophy at the Intel Extreme Masters pre-Winter Olympics event in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Scarlett became the first woman to win a major StarCraft II tournament. Blizzard Entertainment

Team Expert's Sasha "Scarlett" Hostyn became the first woman to win a major StarCraft II tournament after beating Jin Air Green Wings' Kim "sOs" Yoo at the Intel Extreme Masters pre-Winter Olympics event in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Tuesday night. She is also the second non-South Korean to win a major SC II tournament in the country.

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South Korean Overwatch player Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon will become the first female in the Overwatch League and will be joined by three other South Korean players as they head to the Shanghai Dragons.

Scarlett breezed through the bracket, dropping only one game each in the early rounds, quarters and semis. But it was Game 5 against sOs in which Scarlett dominated. The Zerg versus Protoss setup proved to be an advantageous game for Scarlett, who completely deconstructed sOs's defenses. Scarlett ended up taking it 4-1 in the grand finals, walking away with $50,000.

This win marks a major moment in Scarlett's career. Not only did she take down sOs, the highest-earning StarCraft II player of all time, she also won an international premiere event for the first time.

Competitive gaming was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a sport in November 2017. Given that South Korea was one of the first countries to treat competitive gaming as a professional event, it's fitting that Pyeongchang 2018 would serve as the inauguration of Olympic esports.

Scarlett's win comes following news that Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon will be the first woman to play in the Overwatch League when she joins the Shanghai Dragons later this month.

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